Scandipop songstresses KARIN PARK and MARGARET BERGER appeared together for a joint performance at Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix, the country’s selection vehicle for the Eurovision Song Contest.
MARGARET BERGER was last year’s entry with the DEPECHE MODE influenced ‘I Feed You My Love’ and came a respectable fourth place although ultimately, it deserved to win. The song was co-written by KARIN PARK so the reunion of the pair was an apt occasion as Norway planned their next Eurovision assault.
Their marvellous duet on ‘I Feed You My Love’ was preceded by a medley of Park and Berger’s brand new singles. Appearing with her metalhead brother David on drums, KARIN PARK’s latest offering ‘Look What You’ve Done’ is a fine development of ‘Restless’ from her last album ‘Highwire Poetry’.
Wrestling within a punchy glam schaffel, the fact that Park can appear on as mainstream a show as Eurovision while experimenting with the more leftfield side of electronic music shows that with THE KNIFE venturing into more uncompromising climes, the other Karin could fill the void now left by the Drejers in avant pop. Having already released the more esoteric ‘Shine’ to launch the campaign for her new album, ‘Look What You’ve Done’ is a key indicator of KARIN PARK’s ambition to fit into both pop and experimental worlds.
Meanwhile, ‘Scream’ sees the launch of ‘New Religion’, MARGARET BERGER’s first album since 2006’s ‘Pretty Scary Silver Fairy’. The one-time victor of Norwegian Idol effectively relaunched her career with ‘I Feed You My Love’ so her third long player is eager anticipated. ‘Scream’ sees her continuing the sub-ROBYN template of her Eurovision smash.
In a style which is leftfield by mainstream standards, ‘Scream’ possesses an inherent industrialised darkness away from her previously more overtly commercial leanings on songs such as the perfect melancholic pop of ‘Will You Remember Me Tomorrow?’. Whatever, this is an approach to quality pop that sets itself apart.
KARIN PARK ‘Look What You’ve Done’ is available via State Of The Eye Recordings
MARGARET BERGER ‘Scream’ is available via Macho Records
Mysterious hauntronica artist GAZELLE TWIN has unleashed a fierce taster of her new sophomore album ‘Unflesh’ with the percussive ‘Belly Of The Beast’.
Continuing her metaphysical explorations in sound using synths and samples, Elizabeth Bernholz (née Walling) has moved away from the template of her avant cinematic debut ‘The Entire City’ to something more confrontational and industrialised. The lyrics talk of “I’ll take it like milk from a baby” over incessant Moog generated arpeggios and a squelchy rumblestrip. The powerfully enigmatic video directed by Bernholz and Esther May Springett features CCTV footage of an earthquake and somewhat surreally, but poignantly with some of the acts of God that have been happening around the UK, a milk flood!
Using the breadth of her talents, GAZELLE TWIN recognises the impact of a visual context to compliment her aural expression. In a 2012 interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, she said: “Film is the bedrock for many of my compositions in the past and now – although just as much in the thematic sense as the musical”.
Following the interim ‘Mammal’ EP issued in early 2012 which featured a remix of ‘This Is My Hand’ by acclaimed film score composer Clint Mansell and a striking cover of WIRE’s ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Belly Of The Beast’ sees GAZELLE TWIN back on the campaign trail. Performing live while veiled and often with minimal lighting, she evokes a Fourth World presence that represents a stark back-to-basics type of futurism. Her cover of ‘He’s A Liquid’ on the John Foxx curated ‘Exponentialism’ covers EP added a sexual tension not apparent in the original.
Having had her brooding music featured in a trailer for ‘Prometheus’ and endorsed by the likes of John Foxx, ‘Unflesh’ will be a key release for Bernholz that could potentially establish her alongside key experimentalists such as THE KNIFE.
‘Belly Of The Beast’ is released by Anti-Ghost Moon Ray Records
IAMAMIWHOAMI, the electronic multimedia project fronted by Jonna Lee and produced by Claes Björklund are back.
Using a ‘Generate’ crowdfunding system “for creative purpose only”, the duo have continued where they previously left off, progressing with their next audio / visual campaign,
They are showcasing brand new songs with accompanying lushly filmed videos at a rate of one song per month, until it is assumed October 2014 when an as-yet-untitled, full length album and DVD set will be available.
Managed by DEF who also represent renowned electronic artists such as THE KNIFE, ROYKSOPP, MOBY and ROBYN, IAMAMIWHOAMI first come to worldwide attention with a series of viral videos that eventually made up the ‘Bounty’ EP starting in 2009.
Using a further a track-by-track per month campaign, the first full length album and DVD set ‘Kin’ was issued in 2012 to much acclaim. The first song previewed in January was ‘Fountain’, a moody epic of glacial Nordic weirdness with hints of COCTEAU TWINS, and THE KNIFE when they were listenable.
Experimentation is all very well but if there is no accessible melodic hook or aural entry point, how can the listener become entranced? TUBEWAY ARMY’s ‘Are Friends Electric?’ may have been nearly six minutes long and featured a discordant musica diabolis in its structure, but the main synth riff grabbed the ears with something futuristic and accessible. It had an escapist nature about it too, very important in these socially and economically turbulent times. ‘Fountain’ does all this very well and its accompanying visuals capture the icy, melancholic feeling of the song wonderfully.
Meanwhile as February’s offering, ‘Hunting For Pearls’ ups the tempo with pulsing sequences and trancey atmospheres, coupled with a beautifully rich vocal from Jonna Lee. If KATE BUSH made a modern electronic dance record at Polar Studios, it would sound like this. Again, the visuals do the song justice with enigmatic underwater sequences and otherworldly companions trying to figure out the behaviour of the mysterious falsetto phenomenon. And yes, there’s a lot of ice! The air is cold but inside, things are warm.
Based on the evidence of these two trailers for the new long player, the standard of the ‘Kin’ album and the ‘Bounty’ opus will at least be maintained if not exceeded. IAMAMIWHOAMI’s audio / visual campaign is also a lesson to others who are attempting the concept of video tasters that really, a full length song is required to hold the attention of a potential audience… one minute clips, like with 35 seconds worth of amateur live footage captured on an iPhone and bunged onto YouTube, are rather pointless…
‘Fountain’ and ‘Hunting For Pearls’ are available via Amazon and iTunes
Following the debut single ‘When We Were Young’ b/w ‘Kleiner Satellit’ in 2008, TWINS NATALIA finally release their first album ‘The Destiny Room’.
The Anglo-German ensemble comprises Anna Logue Records supremo Marc Schaffer, graphic designer Steve Lippert, synth wizard Dave Hewson and vocalists Sharon Abbott and Julie Ruler, the latter three from cult combo POEME ELECTRONIQUE. Using vintage synths and “working together in order to create some beautiful, catchy yet melancholic and substantial electropop”, TWINS NATALIA have captured a pristine technostalgic journey through Europe of real life and postcard views.
Touchingly melancholic with classic Weimar Cabaret melodies and vibrant Kling Klang interplay, the soundtrack conjures memories of holiday romances with pretty German Frauleins and flirty French mademoiselles. With classic Roland drum machines, the metronomic structures of TWINS NATALIA’s songs are the backbone to a wonderfully emotive soundtrack of elegance and decadence.
Like with other dual female fronted combos such as PROPAGANDA, LADYTRON and MARSHEAUX, the combination of sweet wispy countenance together with the occasionally half spoken intonation makes things rather appealing. Sharon Abbott’s deeper, Dietrich-like vocals and Julie Ruler’s more ABBA-esque demeanour are complimented further by a two way counterpoint courtesy of Dave Hewson and vocoderizations by Marc Schaffer.
Previewed on ‘The Anna Logue Years 5th Anniversary Compilation’ in 2010, the gorgeously arpegiated opener ‘Destiny’ is beautifully melodic and simply outstanding. Rich, vibrant soloing from Dave Hewson on a Roland Jupiter 6 acts as a wonderful dressing, as it does throughout the album. Second song ‘Into My Arms Again’ features the type of octave pulse familiar to lovers of ‘Rent’ and ‘Blue Savannah’ which will provide a pretty entry point into the classic style of synthpop on display.
‘I Avoid Strangers’ ups the tempo with a frantic HI-NRG romp. Featuring Dave Hewson on lead vocals and lyrics by Steve Lippert, you could be forgiven that this might be the CHVRCHES blokey moment of the album. But Herr Hewson possesses a voice that suits the song perfectly and the end result is not at all out of context. Meanwhile ‘Scary Monster’ and its vocodered robots add a more mechanised outlook to proceedings.
On ‘Don’t Fade Away’, the pace steadies before the glorious ‘Bear Me Up’. This one is not unlike GINA X PERFORMANCE reconstructed with a romantische Eurovisionary chorus… but don’t let that put you off; after all, the Belgian synth pioneers TELEX did Eurovision in their time. The United Europe theme continues with ‘C’est Le Weekend’ and would be what Grace Jones would sound like if she represented Luxembourg. This is what being in the EU is all about… so stick that up your Nigel Farage!
‘My Little Battery Boy’ features some wonderful bouncy highs and electro-metallics coupled with some saucy innuendo; Abbott announces she has been having “so much pleasure, so much joy!”… mais oui! Chugging sequences permeate ‘Freedom In Your Hand’ where another marvellous polyphonic solo run by Hewson adds to the fun before the PET SHOP BOYS styled neo-orchestrated statement of ‘Set Love Free’. It climaxes like a pomped up ‘Rent’ and is a wonderful slice of joie de vivre to end ‘The Destiny Room’.
Now while the debut single is not featured on the vinyl LP, both sides come as welcome bonus tracks on the CD version. The appeal of ‘When We Were Young’ and ‘Kleiner Satellit’ are that they are endearingly familiar yet equally futuristic at the same time. TWINS NATALIA’s fiercer cover of MARSHEAUX’s ‘Radial Emotion’ is also included along with a Special Extended Night Version of ‘I Avoid Strangers’. Overall as a CD package, ‘The Destiny Room’ and its rich textures will satisfy electronic music enthusiasts of a time when people actually played synths and explored the capabilities of their drum machines. It’s been a long time coming but the wait in ‘The Destiny Room’ has been worth it.
In a feature for NME, Paul Haig was labelled “the face and sound of 1982” by Paul Morley who also considered him the “enigmatic fourth man” in a quartet of New Pop saviours comprising Billy Mackenzie, Jim Kerr and Martin Fry.
Indeed Morley held Haig in such high regard that he instigated PROPAGANDA to cover ‘Sorry For Laughing’ which had been recorded by Haig’s former band JOSEF K. Now while Haig is generally only known by the post-punk cognoscenti, during the years between 1981-93 when he released music on the prestigious Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule, he produced some of the best electronic pop singles of the period.
And thanks to the intervention of former Crépuscule employee James Nice, not only has the label been resurrected (with synth girls MARNIE and MARSHEAUX being among the first releases), a compilation of Haig’s recordings with Crépuscule is now available and has naturally been titled ‘At Twilight’. The collection also includes his 1984 ‘Lost Album’.
PAUL HAIG had been the lead singer of JOSEF K, a guitar band with a frenetic pace who were to influence acts such as THE WEDDING PRESENT and FRANZ FERDINAND. Part of the Glasgow School on Postcard Records alongside ORANGE JUICE and AZTEC CAMERA, JOSEF K spilt after just one album ‘The Only Fun in Town’ in 1981. They were typical hipster favourites of their day; their stance of not wanting to be commercially successful and suffering for their art helped them gain a cult following.
But Haig had tired of these ideals and seeing his contemporaries ORANGE JUICE and AZTEC CAMERA sign to majors, he wanted to be part of the action and aspired to make pop records that could gain radio play. Inspired by acts such as NEW ORDER and HEAVEN 17, he began experimenting with electronica. In 1982, Haig signed to Les Disques du Crépuscule. He relocated to Brussels and released his first solo single, a self-produced cover of SLY & THE FAMILY STONE’s ‘Running Away’.
Although guitar driven, with its drum machine backbone and brassy synth solo, it was a sign of the more accessible direction Haig wanted to head in. These sessions were fruitful. From those, ‘Chance’ sounded like a mechanically propelled version of THE TEARDROP EXPLODES.
Meanwhile, a planned second self-produced single ‘Justice’ impressed enough that a distribution deal with Island Records was inked. With it came a sizeable advance to secure the services of a name producer. With ambitions to make a sophisticated album with an electronic dance sheen, the services of the late Alex Sadkin were secured and the release of ‘Justice’ was scrapped as the debut album ‘Rhythm Of Life’ was recorded at Sigma Sound in New York.
Sadkin’s productions for THOMPSON TWINS and DURAN DURAN from around the same period may have inadvertently thrown Haig into the commercial pop circus ring but prior to that, Sadkin had worked with Grace Jones and TALKING HEADS so the initial motives had been artistically driven. However, while Haig wrote the songs, he became very much a puppet on his own solo album as assorted sessioners including Bernie Worrell and even THOMPSON TWINS’ very own Tom Bailey added the funky synthesized overtones.
The first fruit of these labours was ‘Heaven Sent’ released in late 1982. It remains Haig’s only UK hit reaching 74 in late 1982 and had originally been written for JOSEF K. Vocally sounding like a growly Jim Kerr crossed with Lou Reed, its sweeping electro sound wasn’t unlike SIMPLE MINDS ‘I Travel’ reworked for The Danceteria. In fact, Kerr and Co’s ‘Sparkle In The Rain’ had been due to be produced by Alex Sadkin… who knows what could have happened had that became reality but whatever, ‘Heaven Sent’ was a fine introduction to Haig’s new instrumental template. The follow-up ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’ was even better, highly percussive and boosted by some sub-ASSOCIATES rhythm guitar and big layered synth riffs fused to a catchy chorus and uplifting middle eight.
It showed great promise yet failed to dent the charts. It certainly deserved to, especially when compared with the less immediate ‘Union Of The Snake’ with which DURAN DURAN were vying for the No1 spot around the same time. Sadly, this is missing from ‘At Twilight’ but from the album, the enjoyable ‘Adoration’ makes an appearance.
A third single ‘Justice’ was lifted from ‘Rhythm Of Life’ and was supported with a club tour where Alan Rankine from ASSOCIATES joined his backing band along with ORANGE JUICE refugees David McClymont and Malcolm Ross. Less urgent and dancefloor based than its two predecessors, ‘Justice’ was full of drama nonetheless. The version on ‘At Twilight’ is the scrapped original version and although more basic than the Sadkin version, it still has a great keyboard solo.
Undeterred by his experiences in New York, Haig opted for a harder but still electronic sound augmented by more guitars for his next album. Alan Rankine was slotted in as producer but for what was to become the key track of Haig’s career, the production services of NEW ORDER’s Bernard Sumner were secured. With A CERTAIN RATIO’s Donald Johnson also joining them to record ‘The Only Truth’, the 12” version was seven and a half minutes of magnificent euphoric bliss with its blistering programmed drum box and meaty bass sequence augmented by funk laden slap. The final instrumental section of guitar and synth interplay was an outstanding 180 seconds all on its own!
Combining ‘Temptation’, ‘586’ and ‘Blue Monday’, ‘The Only Truth’ sounded like the best single NEW ORDER never recorded! It was yet another brilliantly catchy song from the pen of the Glaswegian. There were two further versions of ‘The Only Truth’ including a US Remix and the still strange sounding single edit.
Such has been the song’s impact, ‘At Twilight’ features all three… but this is totally unnecessary when ‘Never Give Up (Party Party)’ is missing from the collection and the original 12” remains the definitive version. However, ‘The Only Truth’ also failed to become a hit. Disappointed by the lack of chart action, Island Records took matters in their own hands and the album was denied a release. At a crossroads, Haig retained half of the recorded album while new material was added.
The second disc of ‘At Twilight’ features this Lost Album and while much of the material is familiar to Haig followers having been issued as B-sides, the tracklisting is an interesting listening experience. The ballad ‘One Lifetime Away’ has some wonderful widescreen Morricone-esque overtones.
Meanwhile ‘Big Blue World’ and the later ‘Heaven Help You Now’ with their sub-NEW ORDER sequenced vibes remain really good tracks. However, both suffer from comparison with ‘The Only Truth’. Among the bonus tracks on this disc, ‘The Executioner’, an at-the-time unreleased collaboration with CABARET VOLTAIRE is a wondrous gem while another track from the archives ’Change Of Heart’ is a great pulsating avant disco tune.
The reconfigured album ‘The Warp Of Pure Fun’ was finally issued in 1985 but by 1986, Haig had tired of label politics and signed to Virgin offshoot Circa for one last crack at pop stardom with the album ‘Chain’ in 1989. It yielded an excellent single ‘Something Good’ which was a minor hit in Germany.
With a follow-up beckoning, Haig took an interest in the dance scene that emerged following the onslaught of acid house. This seeded the recordings ‘I Believe In You’, ‘Flight X’ and ‘My Kind’ with dance producers such as THE CHIMES (featuring drummer James Locke from his 1984 live band), Mantronik and Lil Louis respectively. These authentic credible tracks of the period gained critical acclaim, but Circa stalled on releasing this fourth album. This led to Haig returning to Crépuscule to issue the resultant collection of songs as ‘Coincidence Vs Fate’ in 1993.
But after that, Haig maintained a lower profile, working with the late Billy Mackenzie on what became the ‘Memory Palace’ posthumous album and issuing his acclaimed ‘Cinematique’ series of instrumental works. Still singing today, more recently, he recorded adventurous covers of THE WALKER BROTHERS ‘The Electrician’ and JOY DIVISION’s ‘Atmosphere’ as well as issuing a new album ‘Kube’ last Autumn; but all these are another story…
While there are gaps, ‘At Twilight’ captures the synthpop prime of one of the UK’s forgotten talents. Its release deservedly puts PAUL HAIG and some of the best songs from the post-punk era back into the limelight. So Operation Twilight starts now…
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